DAILY NATION Wednesday April 22, 2015 DEVOLUTION CONFERENCE MOVE FUNCTION | National Government urged to hand over police unit to enhance efficiency Devolve AP, county chiefs call Governors say they’re closer to the people and controlling security will curb needless deaths BY PATRICK LANGAT patrick.k.langat@gmail.com G overnors yesterday intensified their push to control the Administration Police. This would help a great deal to combat insecurity, the county chiefs said during the second annual devolution conference that started in Kisumu yesterday. They asked for amendments to the proposed County Policing Authorities to be chaired by governors. Tana River Governor Hussein Dado, chairman of the Council of Governors Committee on Security, said their role in ensuring the safety of Kenyans could not be overstated. “We need the AP under the gover- nors and we can assure you that 70 per cent of the problems of insecurity in the counties would be solved,” he said. Mr Dado said an earlier plan to devolve the AP was stopped by the National Government for unknown reasons. In an emotional mid-morning ses- sion moderated by security analyst Simiyu Werunga, governors took turns to voice their concerns. MORE INFORMATION TOM OTIENO | NATION Busia Senator Amos Wako addresses a session during the second annual Devolution Conference in Kisumu. Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery, though lined up as a panellist, missed the session. Hard questions on the government’s response to the Garissa University College attack that left 148 people dead on April 2 were asked. Marsabit Governor Ukur Yatani chaired the panel. Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua, chairman of the Senate Committee on Security Yusuf Haji, Nominated Senator Beatrice Elachi,and British High Commissioner to Kenya Dr Christian Turner Ruto calls for change of tack Strategy: Council of Governors Isaac Ruto said the National Government must rethink its idea of the provincial administration and “align it to the county governments”. Consultation: The Bomet Governor called for consultations in the wake of increasing terrorist attacks to find solutions on how best to tackle the vice that has claimed many lives. were part of the panel. The overriding argument was that even though security is a National Government function, lack of it took a heavy toll on the counties. Leaders want boundary team set up to resolve regional rows BY NATION REPORTER A section of governors yes- terday called for the setting up of a special team to handle disputes on boundaries in counties. Wajir Senator Yusuf Haji, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Security, said boundary fights posed a greater threat to peace and security. “The Interim Independ- ent Boundaries Commission drew the boundaries without consulting communities and there are emerging security issues concerning the demarcation,” he said. He appealed for the for- mation of a boundaries commission that would collect people’s views. Lamu Governor Issa Timamy said Kenya was lucky because it had not experienced serious inter-county disputes but there is a likelihood of such differences escalating into major conflicts. Most of the governors and county leaders at the second Devolution Conference pushed for the use of alternative disputes resolution (ADR) to tackle inter-government disputes. Governors at the conference warned that boundary disputes might become a bigger problem like terrorism if they are not addressed in time. Transition Authority chairman Kinuthia 657,000 The number of cases involving counties that are stuck in courts and it will take judges three years to clear them wa Mwangi suggested that terrorism be declared a national crisis. The leaders noted that county governments and assemblies were spending millions of shillings on court cases which could be solved through ADR. Speaking during the first ses- sion of the conference that was chaired by Kiambu Governor William Kabogo, the panellists noted there were more than a million pending cases involving counties. “There are 657,000 cases involving counties and it will take the High Court three years of working without a break to rule on the matters,” said the chairman of the Commission on Administrative Justice Omollo Otiende. Mr Otiende(left) emphasised the need to find a less confrontational way of resolving disputes instead of taking them to court which was time-consuming and expensive. “On issues of intergovern- mental disputes, we do not want a situation where one county feels it has lost. The disagreements should be resolved in an amicable manner in the presence of a third party,” he said. He advised that ADR should compliment courts instead of being viewed as an alternative avenue. Mr Otiende, however, cau- tioned that ADR must not contravene any of the rights entrenched in the Constitution. He added that ADR had no capacity to solve boundary disputes between counties saying that such cases were under the jurisdiction of Parliament and the Senate. Kirinyaga County Assem- bly Speaker Anne Wangechi Githinji said counties were spending millions of public funds in legal fees, money that could be spent on other pressing issues in the county. National News 5 Work with civil society, Uhuru urged BY NATION REPORTER The United States has urged President Kenyatta to work with civil society groups in tackling terrorism. US Ambassador to Kenya Rob- ert Godec said yesterday the war against terrorism could be won if the government harmonised its working relations with civil society. Speaking during the second “When the county is insecure, people turn to the governor to do something. If we have command of AP and how they are deployed, we would be able to ensure our people’s safety,” Governor Dado. Senator Haji stressed that the best way to tackle insecurity is by involving the counties. He faulted the laxity of the military during the attack on the university. “Security is not a preserve of a few people. You cannot win the fight against insecurity if you do not involve the people who live with the common people,” Mr Haji said. Governor Mbugua, a former Admin- istration Police Commandant, said that there is need to change the laws that govern the County Policing Authorities that he called “cosmetic.” annual devolution conference at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu yesterday, Mr Godec said President Barack Obama believes support for civil society is critical for a democratic society. “It is important for civil soci- ety and the government to work together because they are the conscience of our nations. They cannot work in exclusion if we are to achieve democracy, and address development and security concerns,” he said. He asked the government to partner with the human rights organisations to fight insecurity. “We need to strengthen se- curity through partnering with human rights organisations,” Mr Godec said. For his part, British High Commissioner Christian Turner urged the national and county governments to work with the communities to defeat terrorism.